The Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt has upheld a 2007 Rivers State High Court judgement restraining the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission from investigating the finances and public accounts of the Rivers State Government.
The ruling also effectively prevents the anti-graft agency from probing former Rivers State Governor, Peter Odili, over activities during his administration between 1999 and 2007.
In the judgement delivered on Friday in appeal number CA/PH/622/2008, a three-member panel of the appellate court ruled that the earlier Rivers State High Court decision remains valid and binding because it was never challenged through an appeal.
The panel, made up of Justices Ugochukwu Ogakwu, Isah Gafai and Zainab Abubakar, delivered the decision in a case filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission against the Attorney General of Rivers State, the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, the Rivers State House of Assembly, its Clerk and Odili.
Delivering the lead judgement, Justice Ogakwu stated that the EFCC could not ignore or attempt to override a valid court judgement nearly two decades after it was delivered.
“There was no appeal against the said judgement of the High Court of Rivers State. The judgment remains conclusive and binding, and the constitutional interpretation made therein, whether right or wrong, is accepted as correct and cannot be argued against since it was not challenged on appeal,” the judge held.
The legal dispute originated from a February 16, 2007 judgement by the Rivers State High Court, which ruled that only the Rivers State House of Assembly, the Accountant-General and the Auditor-General of the state possess constitutional powers to scrutinise the state’s finances and public accounts.
The court based its decision on Sections 120, 121, 122, 124, 125 and 128 of the 1999 Constitution, maintaining that those powers could not be shared with any other institution or agency, including the EFCC.
The case is tied to the long-running legal battle surrounding efforts by the EFCC to investigate the administration of Odili.
In 2007, the former governor secured a perpetual injunction from the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt restraining the EFCC from investigating, arresting or prosecuting him, while also stopping the commission from examining Rivers State finances during his tenure.
Although the EFCC challenged the injunction in 2008, the court order effectively shielded Odili from investigation by the commission for nearly 20 years.
In 2018, the Court of Appeal granted the EFCC permission to challenge the Federal High Court judgement. That move later prompted the Attorney General of Rivers State and the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly to file separate appeals at the Supreme Court seeking to overturn the decision.
However, in March 2025, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeals after the parties withdrew them and directed that the substantive matter return to the Court of Appeal for hearing.
Despite that development, the Court of Appeal ruled on Friday that the original 2007 Rivers State High Court judgement remains binding because it was never directly appealed.
The court also held that the EFCC could not rely on provisions of its Establishment Act to override an existing constitutional interpretation by a competent court, stressing that the Constitution remains superior to any other legislation.
